Phantom Lady: Widow Panic at the Patriarchal Disco

In this episode, hosts Kyle Showalter and Katie Mestres dig into the depths of early modern misogyny and its impact on the world of The Phantom Lady. In both England and on the Continent, widows caused massive anxiety for the patriarchy in the Renaissance. Showalter and Mestres explore the history and context of the widow in both real-life and dramatic contexts, with a tight focus on the character of Doña Angela from The Phantom Lady. They then open the aperture to think about misogyny more broadly in the period through an examination of Renaissance anti-woman pamphlet wars. This episode features dramatized readings from the play with the help of actors Matthias Bolon, Abigail Olshin, Emily Bassett, and John Williams. A note on content: This episode includes discussions of misogynistic language and mistreatment/violence towards women. There is also one usage of the f-word in context. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.